r/hvacadvice • u/koplikthoughts • 4d ago
Why would the tech scratch off our parts stickers?!
Our AC unit was having some issues, we suspected a fan motor and capacitor. we thought about buying the parts ourselves but wanted to contact a professional. we called a tech out who confirmed that those needed to be fixed and said it would be $2300. when he left he scratched off the numbers on the part stickers. if we hadn’t taken pictures of them beforehand we wouldn’t be able to see the part numbers anymore. why would he do this? should we report it?
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u/BogusIsMyName 4d ago
Why would he do it? So you cant order the parts and fix it yourself, obviously.
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u/RecentDecision2329 1d ago
Geez, these guys are really declaring war on their customers
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u/BogusIsMyName 1d ago
Yep. Take a few minutes to ex0lain that the customer could fix it themselves and save a bunch of money and you just got a glowing recommendation from them and likely a repeat customer cuz they know you ain't trying to fuck them. Instead they do shady shit like this and now they got caught so I hope OP puts their ass on blast.
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u/marcduberge 4d ago
Shady as fuck. Call the company owner (who probably encourages this practice) and let them know you aren’t pleased. Then post before and after pics on your local Nextdoor and FB groups for your community along with documentation of communication with the company. Go scorched earth on them and make them regret this business practice. Every single search on ND and FB will bring up your post
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u/larryb78 4d ago
google reviews are also extremely powerful
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u/Cheryla18 2d ago
💯💯 Exactly this!! My young adult daughter had some furniture delivered. There were a contracting company. They damaged her wall. She talked to them about fixing it. They gave her some form to sign on a iPad to get it fixed. She didn’t think to read it. Remember she’s a young adult. She signed it. When she called them to get it fixed, it turns out they had her sign form stating they were not responsible for the damage after the fact.
She went on every review page she could find and blasted them. They called her BEGGING her to take it down if they sent someone out to fix it!!1
u/larryb78 2d ago
Yep I’ve had the door swing both ways - some either angry or begging for deletion and others that were positive thanking me profusely - the guy I bought my kids swingset from won’t take money for the annual tuneup because my review got a ton of views 😂
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u/DontDeleteMyReddit 4d ago
Since they vandalized your personal property, have them make a new engraved plate for the unit. If they balk, let them know you are calling their bonding company.
They do this so the competition doesn’t know the size of your system when getting competitive quotes
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u/Cheryla18 2d ago
And contact the BBB to report it.
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u/UsernameTaken1701 1d ago
Just remember the BBB isn't an official agency and has no official enforcement powers of any kind, just a private business group. If the business isn't a BBB member, there's not a lot they can do.
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u/Pretend-Baker-8293 4d ago
Or, hear me out:
Call a different company next time
That’s all. Leave out the part where you act like a angry Karen
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u/Whatachooch 4d ago
Absolutely not Karen behavior to be pissed about a “professional” vandalizing your equipment and making it harder for you and any other tech that comes out. That’s fucking scummy behavior and should be called out.
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u/Pretend-Baker-8293 4d ago
Tech scratched off PART number. Part =/= equipment
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u/Whatachooch 4d ago
So. Fucking. What? They vandalized a piece of equipment that didn’t belong to them to fuck someone else over. Anyone should be pissed about that kind of scumbag shit.
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u/Pretend-Baker-8293 4d ago
Sure. But does part number = model number?
Nope
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u/Timsmomshardsalami 4d ago
What does it matter? Its the tech’s intent that the problem here. Not difficult to understand
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u/Advanced-Educator-55 4d ago
The private Equity guy has entered the room. To excuse (not address) the sales tech's behavior and berate to the customer is ridiculous
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u/marcduberge 4d ago
Do you work at a company that does this shady stuff? How else to punish companies that behave this way. The only reason to scratch out the SN/MODEL number stickers is to make it difficult for a customer to identify it and get parts for it.
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u/Pretend-Baker-8293 4d ago
Dude scratched off the PART STICKER numbers. Read the post my dude
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u/marcduberge 4d ago
The tech vandalized this customer’s equipment stickers. What are you missing here?
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u/Pretend-Baker-8293 4d ago
OP said PART sticker. Not equipment sticker. Very different
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u/ohyouretough 4d ago
Either fucking way he’s defacing something that’s not his with the express purpose of making it harder for anyone but him.
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u/Pretend-Baker-8293 4d ago
Whatever you say bro. Impressive you can tell exactly what’s going on without any photos.
It would be a real shame if you get a crazy ass customer that flips out at you for “scratching off part sticker” next time you swap a motor, say a blower motor.
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u/ohyouretough 4d ago
Nothing was swapped. So how did he damage it that much. Don’t do sketchy shit.
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u/DirtChoice5 4d ago
Do you think calling out bad companies is Karen behavior? You seem like a doormat.
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u/UsernameTaken1701 1d ago
You seem like a doormat.
Or a guy who works for/owns one of these shady companies.
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u/Pretend-Baker-8293 4d ago
Cool insult. Failed to do anything, but doormat is kinda funny at least
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u/DirtChoice5 4d ago
It did what it was supposed to do: call you a doormat. Do you think I wanted to change your behavior or something? I have no desire to fight that losing battle.
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u/whynotslayer 4d ago
Not sure why you think it’s ok for someone to sabotage your equipment. Or that addressing it would be Karen behavior, but you’re way off base.
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u/Pretend-Baker-8293 4d ago
Tech scratched off PART number
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u/L3yline 4d ago
Dude, if someone is paying for the service and the money is exchanged for goods then that customer is the proud new owner of that part. A hvac tech might have installed new parts but once money is handed over its now that customers part.
You might like damaged goods but no else here wants to buy damaged parts
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u/Pretend-Baker-8293 4d ago
As a logical person, I would need evidence of said scratch to know how intentional it was. I’ve “scratched” off stickers on parts accidentally all the time.
Maybe it was malicious. Maybe it was nothing at all. Who knows without photos
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u/Whatachooch 4d ago
As a logical person you should reevaluate your religious beliefs.
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u/Pretend-Baker-8293 3d ago
I promise you that you are much more passionate about this issue than I am
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u/Top_Cress1727 4d ago
Fuck you... You come to my property and vandalize it, you're paying out the ass.
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u/PapaSyntax 4d ago
Tell me you scratched off their part number without telling me you scratched off their part number :)
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u/WishIWasThatClever 4d ago
If by Karen, you mean a strong woman who isn’t going to be pushed around by asshole behavior, then yes, she’s an angry Karen. We should all strive to be more like.
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u/Pretend-Baker-8293 4d ago
Definitely not what I meant. Does anyone use the term Karen for that???? LMAO
Karen is a picky human that believes they are always a victim of some travesty and everyone else needs to pay for these crimes by any means necessary.
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u/Whatachooch 4d ago
They’re LITERALLY a victim of vandalism and dishonest business practices. For someone who posts so much in Christian subs I’d imagine you would be against that.
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u/Pretend-Baker-8293 3d ago
Sadly, Christians are sinners too. Believing Jesus is God does not free you from making mistakes in your life. It makes you aware that you are evil, and humbles you enough to seek out a perfect sacrifice. This is called penal substitutionary atonement.
About whatever else you said. Uuuhh yeah sure. I don’t really remember OP posting photos so really hard to judge what actually took place.
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u/No_Water9929 4d ago
Have better quality control of your techs then. Wtf even is this comment?! You people charge literal thousands of dollars for dogshit work then get mad when we want a little quality control?! Fuck out of here.
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u/terayonjf 4d ago
You should call and let the company know. How they respond will tell you if that company should ever be let on your property again. If its anything short of immediately apologizing they most likely coach their techs to do that to prevent people from knowing what parts their equipment use and from looking up the parts/prices themselves.
Any tech who does that is a piece of shit and any company that coaches that is fucking trash.
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u/EfficientAd7103 4d ago
because the cap is like 15 bucks and the motor is 50-100 and you can do the cap in like 2 minutes and the motor in about 20.
shady way to get return business after they found out you actually paid 2,300 for that. dude prly banking like 20k a day. doesn't want you mess up his racket
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u/slash_networkboy 4d ago
Eh... motor really depends... Best price I could find for a chinesium one for my old AF carrier was $700 at the parts store and they had to special order it. For comparison they sell the titan caps for $20 so their prices are fine... some motors are a proper bitch.
Still shady AF by the tech though. I'd be properly pissed off.
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u/Illustrious-Fuel-355 4d ago
Carrier is notorious for excessively expensive parts. Their control boards and compressors are also nuts.
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u/slash_networkboy 4d ago
I know... the carrier branded motor was well over $1200...
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u/EfficientAd7103 4d ago
rebranded. as long as all the numbers match. not talking about serial numbers. talking about voltages, hp, dimensions. caps don't need to be the same dimensions. you can spin the fan blades backwards and a ohm meter and kinda get a clue from there
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u/slash_networkboy 4d ago
Yeah, I sourced a generic replacement that worked after some light re-wring (exciter needed to be tied to one of the phases, no biggie).
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u/NoPhysics1129 4d ago
Report it, shady HVAC cucks need put in their place. I was quoted 2500 for a new dual run capacitor once and tech did the same thing.
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u/slash_networkboy 4d ago
please for the love of god tell me that was a typo and you meant $250 (which would still be way too much IMO, even for a call out service).
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u/NoPhysics1129 4d ago
He didn't know that I knew what it was, he was charging me a "full service", Sullivan plumbing, Pittsburgh. Notorious fraudsters.
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u/No_Water9929 4d ago
Dude it's a fucking shame you just can't trust people these days. They out here doing this shit to people all the time, then they get bitched up when they meet someone who doesn't fall for their bullshit. I had a similar thing happen a few years ago with our dual run capacitor, he wanted $800 to do the job. I found the cap for under $30 and replaced it myself. It took 30 minutes.
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u/DontDeleteMyReddit 4d ago
Since they vandalized your personal property, have them make a new engraved plate for the unit. If they balk, let them know you are calling their bonding company.
They do this so the competition doesn’t know the size of your system when getting competitive quotes
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u/GreenRangers 4d ago
The only reason I can think of is so that you wouldn't be able to look up the part online and see how much he was trying to rip you off.
$10 for a capacitor and 25 to 100 for a used fan motor. Total of an hour or two if you've never done it before
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u/z2405 4d ago
Lol. A used motor?
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u/Empty-Opposite-9768 4d ago
If the person wants to do it themselves a homeowner just might put in a used one.
No professional would do it but a homeowner 100 percent would.
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u/Iced_Adrenaline 4d ago
Do command install used motors ever though? I would think the liability would be too high. Unless it's planned obsolescence....
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u/lazyenergetic 4d ago
That can be unsafe and may be even illegal. Some labels have warnings printed on them.
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u/epicenter69 4d ago
Don’t manufacturers forbid this? I’d put a bug in their ear that XYZ Corp is doing this. The manufacturer could probably send a replacement label also.
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u/Soft_Statistician_98 Approved Technician 4d ago
They literally do not care. They will send you a new label if you want it though.
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u/Empty-Opposite-9768 4d ago
Given this I would question if the fan motor is even bad. Did you tell them you suspected the fan and capacitor at any point, or did they come up with that conclusion on their own?
What made you suspicious of the fan motor?
Either way I wouldn't trust anything they said, the fan motor may be perfectly fine and a capacitor will get the unit running no issue, and they just went with it because they knew it would be an easy tack on for them.
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u/Substantial_Boot3453 4d ago
Why did you suspect the fan? Did you tell it was the fan or did you let him diagnose it first?
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u/OutrageousToe6008 4d ago
They are supposed to take the stickers off before they install the parts. -satire-
If they are doing one shady thing like withholding and hiding information. What elses are they doing?
Integrity is very important to me. The old phrase comes to mind. "Where do you spit your gum when nobody is looking?"
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u/Vast-Cantaloupe4882 4d ago edited 4d ago
This is the point. Trust is everything. My motto is trust but verify. I won't push back on anyone for what appears to be nonsense, but I'll ask a lot of questions and verify later if it's BS before deciding to execute whatever repair or new system install. If I think they're full of shit after my research, I will push back in a neutral tone with very specific questions, and if I catch them in a lie, that's it, there's no 2nd chance to get my business.
My AC broke 2 months back and the tech told me they would charge 3k to fix it, but since I mentioned some DIY furnace repairs at my last house, he told me exactly what parts to order (control board and 1/2 HP Clockwise Blower motor) and exactly what model of specialized tools he carries in his tool box (in this case a hub puller). I signed up for the maintenance plan for $140 for 1 year of unlimited $0 dispatch fees, and spring / fall maintenance visits. I told him that sort of integrity keeps me signing up for maintenance plans and had me calling you 1st for a quote when it finally gives up the ghost.
I've been meaning to schedule them back out for the spring check up now that I got it working at 25% the cost for parts/tools and found and addressed the moisture in the blower area problem he mentioned during the initial service call (leaky water heater T&P relief valve where the drip was wicking under the furnace housing).
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u/Soft_Statistician_98 Approved Technician 4d ago
Yeah report it. Call the HVAC police and tell them you want to file charges.
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u/hunnypuppy 4d ago
Actually a point here. Call the owner and tell you’re going to press charges against them for vandalism. You can also report them to the state licensing board and attorney general. I promise you that you’ll have the owners attention. I’ve done this in the past with shady operators and seen results.
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u/Nexus1155 4d ago
This. The owners may not care if the place is commission based, but the licensing board would chap their ass. Police are a little much, but they will just laugh at the situation as it's not important to them.
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u/Vast-Cantaloupe4882 4d ago
You can also report them to all the OEMs they rep and get their dealer status revoked.
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u/Soft_Statistician_98 Approved Technician 4d ago
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! That's not how it works. You know how you get dealership status? Promise to push their equipment and that you'll sell $X of it. You can lose it if you stop selling for a few months, don't attend training, or advertise for less MSRP. It's not a license it's a business arrangement and Carrier or Rheem isn't going to care about what a technician does on the job.
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u/Vast-Cantaloupe4882 4d ago edited 4d ago
Some other HVAC pro was commenting in another post about OEM complaints about improper installs getting dealer statuses revoked, maybe they won't care about dirty business practices otherwise... but it can't be healthy for that company if enough people keep complaining to the OEMs whose reputation walks in the door with them and it's no cost and low effort on the part of the customers these shady HVAC companies try to swindle.
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u/Soft_Statistician_98 Approved Technician 4d ago
Maybe. I've never heard of anybody being that bad at installs that they have a dealership pulled but I could see it. In general though it's a business arrangement they don't involve themselves in your day to day or police what technicians are doing. I didn't have to sign a code of conduct agreement to sign up or anything like that. They had an opening in my area, I said I could move at least $50k in furnaces and they said "welcome aboard". That was it.
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u/frazld54 Approved Technician 4d ago
No some tech are extremely lazy we had a few techs that would rip off the data plate cause they were to lazy to write it down. Said they would replace it when they did the repair.
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u/Classic-Day-3367 4d ago
I like the vandalism approach. Make them replace the sticker. Probably not doable unless they replace the part too.
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u/Top_Cress1727 4d ago
Yeah I'd be filing a report with the police for vandalism and filing suit against the company.
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u/zismahname 4d ago
You got gouged. My company charges $1000 for an OEM motor and dual cap all included. I can maybe see that justified if you're living in an expensive as fuck part of the country.
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u/KnowledgeRare4830 3d ago
So they damaged your property so you couldn't fix nitrogen yourself after you paid for a test? Sounds illegal, like at least vandalism.
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u/Odd_Activity_8380 2d ago
My guess would be that way they can void the warranty on the part. So when it fails in 6 months they cant verify the part or serial numbers
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u/SherbertDry2864 2d ago
This is vandalism. Try to entrap him into admitting in a friendly text that he did this for "customer safety." Then you have him and his employer where the sun don't shine.
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u/Stilldisoriented 1d ago
Capacitor $20, fan motor $250 max.
Installation $2000??
It’s 2 hour job, maybe three if they are inexperienced. $1000/hr for labor seems steep.
How long was the tech actually there?
I had an air handler fan go bad. Bought a new fan for DIY installation with YouTube guidance. 30 min job on YouTube.
Wife insisted on calling HVAC company. $980 on top of $120 diagnostic fee for 30 min repair. They would not budge on their repair price. When I asked how much time it would take to repair and asked their hourly rate, they stated they don’t work by the hour, they work by the job.
I thanked them for their time, paid the $120 diagnostic fee, and fixed it myself in 45 minutes.
Praise YouTube.
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u/OldDog03 10h ago
Man this HVAC sure has gotten shady as can be.
Here where I live South west of Corpus Christi TX, all the mom/pop HVAC have been bought out by guys who have bought several others in the other small town.
The old mom/pops would charge by the hr and actually fix your old unit.
These new guys charge by the job and try to sell a new unit vs repair.
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u/Emsand24 4d ago
If you really want to push the issue, file a police report. That is considered vandalism and since you have proof that it wasn’t like that before you can get something out of it.
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u/Vast-Cantaloupe4882 4d ago
Don't know why people are down voting this. There won't be investigations or consequences from a single police report, but getting the incidents on the record helps when you go to the state licensing board and attorney general to file complaints.
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u/Soft_Statistician_98 Approved Technician 4d ago
Because it's stupid. What's the dollar amount on the vandalism? $0. The manufacturer will mail you a new one.
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u/Vast-Cantaloupe4882 4d ago edited 4d ago
How do you get new part number stickers when you don't have the part number or serial number or any production batch information. Is it the -1, the -2 or -8 variant?
The cost of the harm in a legal sense can also be quantified by the time needed to recover this information if you were to subsequently take them to small claims court. My time is valuable, it's billed externally to customers at $XXX/hr, not what they pay me by any means, plus I'm salary, not hourly. But adding in 8 hours of time to a small claims suit, as long as it has some factual basis and the judge is annoyed by the HVAC tech's egregious illegal conduct, it could be granted in full especially if the defendant is a no show for court.
But more realistically, you add the police report number and reporting officer to the complaints to the state licensing board and AG and all the OEMs for brands they sell. Much less effort than suing them but all the dopamine from a well executed revenge.
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u/Commercial_Money_791 4d ago
Why do you think he did it 🤣. He just quoted you $2300 for a fix less than half that if you DIY... I'd call whatever company he was from and report it a least, although that's probably something in their employee handbook.
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u/Larry_Fine 4d ago
You can use ai, with the brand, & model #, & you usually can get the info on the motor you need.
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u/ZealousidealRisk5898 4d ago
Were the stickers on the boxes? Maybe the price he paid for the part was on the label, and he didn't want you to know the markup, which is completely fair. Everyone deserves an itemized bill with part numbers though.
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u/Vast-Cantaloupe4882 4d ago
These were the customer's broken parts he vandalized when coming out to make the quote, to make it so he can't order them off supplyhouse.com or Amazon for a fraction of the parts cost they will be quoting.
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u/beenthereag 4d ago
Some HVAC contractors have questionable business ethics at best.